Authors

Discussion

Following the Soviet collapse in 1991, the process of post-socialist transformation gave rise to a gendered nationalism associating women with private domains in Central Asian countries. Research is deeply rooted in these regional historical and cultural complexities, where traditions, religion and socio-geo-political aspects intersect. Consequently, it is necessary to understand gender issues in research through a composite approach, taking into account the existing local and emerging paradigms. Given the region’s “post-Sovietness”, the decolonial option is apt to analyze this gender complexity. So, where does Central Asia fit in these decolonial feminist discussions? Central Asia is now a kaleidoscope of changing identities. Tlostanova (2010) and Sultanalieva (2023), two Central Asian feminist researchers, reject the appropriateness of Western feminist theories’ in the local context guided by the claim “Why cut the feet in order to fit the Western shoes?” Consistent with this view, this study addresses the need to decolonize feminist discourses and addresses the specific question: How can Social Science Research Ethics be developed and practiced in Central Asian region considering the local gender norms that impact both researchers and participants? This study draws on data from a larger project “Co-creating culturally relevant Social Science research ethics in Central Asia: Mediating local and global influences”. Specifically, data was generated from one hundred semi-structured interviews and five focus groups with Social Science researchers Kazakhstan, n=48, Kyrgyzstan, n=22, and Uzbekistan, n=30. The data was inductively analysed with codes, categories and themes emerging from dialogic team reflections between February to May 2023.The preliminary insights suggest that gender plays a significant role in shaping the public image of researchers. This is starkly pronounced in cases of female researchers in Kazakhstan, who are often reported as confronting additional layers of prejudices and stereotypes. Rather than being perceived as researchers, some females are simply “seen as female genders”. In Kyrgyzstan, gender roles are mainly linked to social hierarchies and age dynamics; urban versus rural, northern versus southern, with an emphasis on women’s more emancipated position given their nomadic culture compared to sedentary neighbouring states. In Uzbekistan, cultural norms dictated the researcher’s interaction with men and women. Sensitive topics such as religion, gender-based violence, getting approval from husband or family members required more careful consideration in research.It was also advised to have a female researcher for conducting interview with females in Uzbekistan.The common themes: gender norms, cultural nuances and safety concerns for female researchers were highlighted, which will further be elaborated and enhanced.